Even if you aren't into hardcore, this is an important histo
D. K. Malone | earth | 11/03/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Black Flag and/or the Bad Brains generally get the credit for being the first to push punk rock to its extremes until it transformed it into "hardcore". The Middle Class did the same thing, arguably before either of them, but are often forgotten. Why? If I had to guess, it's probably because Flag and the Brains were still going strong in '81/'82 when the hardcore scene really exploded and took off, and they kept going for years after that. Whereas by 1980 the Middle Class had already slowed down, mellowed and softened into something of a post-punk band, and they broke up in '82. Even when they were playing at full speed in '78 and '79, it was perceived in a different way at the time. At the time many saw them as avant-garde, and a big reason for them later changing their sound was to avoid being associated with the new "violent neanderthal jock" scene that hardcore was rapidly congealing into. But listening to it today, you really can't tell the difference. Whether anyone knew it at the time or not, the Middle Class played hardcore thrash. They just didn't have a genre label for it yet.
This disc contains the Out of Vouge EP debut and their two tracks from the Tooth & Nail comp, plus one outtake from that session (which sounds like it could have been the blueprint for the Adolescents' sound.) Also included is the 1980 Scavenged Luxury EP, which I've never heard until now. These four songs show the band first veering away from the "loud fast rules" approach and starting to head towards their jangly post-punk/college rock style. I'd been told that it sounded very Gang of Four-ish, and that's spot-on. And finally, some early demos. Pretty cool to hear You Belong played at half the tempo of the EP version.
Most of the tracks on this CD were obviously mastered directly from worn copies of the original vinyl releases. Normally I would deduct at least one star for that. In this case, it doesn't detract from the quality at all. Hell, it might actually enhance it."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1